[evanjfrancis]

alright, im sick of looking under the hood n seeing it all dirty, dull, and black. it just so boring, stock n gross-looking [vommit]. i need some ideas of how to dress it up, preferably cheap and easy to do haha. i think ill probably paint the valve cover n battery cover to match my exterior, but i really have no idea. what would you recommend? pics if possible so i can see what im doin to my car? []


here it is right now

 

[HawkeyeFLA]

Plug wires. Plug wire cover. Metal valve cover painted or powder coated. Degas cover. Battery cover. Strut tower covers. And that's just a few things that comes off the top of my head.

 

[evanjfrancis]

would all the painting require specific paints? n what about prices? =p id like to be nice to my wallet

 

[captcurt_18]

high temp paint is what youre gunna need. You should cut some mirrors to put in the gaps between the hood braces. Check out Dipindods car.

 

[jmiller_1974]

Red wires from Autozone (or equivalent) +/- &30

Duplicolor "Engine enamel" high heat spray +/- $2-$3 a can

Blue painters tape +/-10 a roll

paper or plastic bags left over from grocery shopping $0

And of course the valve cover would be the costly piece if You get it powdercoated, which I recommend...+/- $25-$75 depending on what prep work You do before dropping it off. And a gasket to replace the OE one, don't even bother trying to make that thing seal ever again...[8]

Colormatched engine bay=FTW!

 

[evanjfrancis]

wow, those mirrors look great =D never even thought of that. how do you actually apply the mirrors to the hood?

does anybody know anything about painting the battery cover or anything? can any of that b done by myself or would it all have to be professionaly powder coated/ painted?

 

[captcurt_18]

wow, those mirrors look great =D never even thought of that. how do you actually apply the mirrors to the hood?

does anybody know anything about painting the battery cover or anything? can any of that b done by myself or would it all have to be professionaly powder coated/ painted?

Mirrors maybe with silicon glue and 3m tape. Ask him i guess.

Painting the cover and other pieces: I would use i de-greaser, and then maybe sand with like 1000+/- grit. Then prime, paint, and use a clear coat.

If this is helpful, let me know (rep, hint hint [] )

 

[josejsanchez]

if you want simple things to put on heres where i order everything for my car just about. have some things for you here.

http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=287

also check out the rest of the site you'll find lots of parts you might want to get.

 

[loudfocus01]

Remove the crappy foam off your firewall.
There are no problems caused by doing so.
It cleans up the engine bay tremendously.

 

[zx360]

give it a GOOD clean, make thing look new again... then dress it up... it doesnt take that long to clean it up but once you do it once just take time every wash to keep it that way... i think a CLEAN motor bay over a overly painted bay looks better... BUT a painted or powdercoated valve cover, strut bar and plug wires and a BLACK degas cover would look sweet!

 

[evanjfrancis]

man, spark plug cover looks amazing... but 100$ is a lil too much =p does any1 have any idea how much the paint is? i wanna paint my battery cover. and i may sound a little dumb for asking... but whats the degas cover? haha sry, im still new to modding. still have to get to know the car =)

 

[evanjfrancis]

Remove the crappy foam off your firewall.
There are no problems caused by doing so.
It cleans up the engine bay tremendously.

again, how would i do so? haha sry guys, i really need help, not just what to do. im still new =(

 

[highrollenzx3]

for a duratec but the basic idea.
http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=132300

 

[evanjfrancis]

okay, so you guys have suggested both professional powdercoating of the valve cover, and diy sand, prime, paint, n clear coating. which is better, n in the end which would probably be cheaper?



and again... what is the degas cover? =p sry, like i stated, im new =)

 

[j-zetec_pr]

the degas cover is a black cover that goes ver your coolant tank, so instead of looking yellowish, it looks black.. it came stock on SVTF

 

[zx360]

okay, so you guys have suggested both professional powdercoating of the valve cover, and diy sand, prime, paint, n clear coating. which is better, n in the end which would probably be cheaper?



and again... what is the degas cover? =p sry, like i stated, im new =)

powdercoat will last longer but costs more....

again i suggest a good cleaning then go from there... dont go overboard with painting...

 

[Bambooburnr]

I cleaned the underhood trimmed all the foam tabs and sprayed it black. Looks sweet.

 

[PURO LATINO]

you can try mike at hilbish ford for the degas cover(which is also paintable) try ebay for the powdercoated valve cover I found one for $45 so if you look hard enough you can find good deals when you search you need to put in ford contour usually a 96" or 97" model thats to ones with the metal covers good luck

 

[HawkeyeFLA]

man, spark plug cover looks amazing... but 100$ is a lil too much =p does any1 have any idea how much the paint is? i wanna paint my battery cover. and i may sound a little dumb for asking... but whats the degas cover? haha sry, im still new to modding. still have to get to know the car =)

http://focus.c-f-m.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=15

That's not $100.

 

[evanjfrancis]

Red wires from Autozone (or equivalent) +/- &30

any specific wires? because ive seen BradWhite's car and i think it looks great, but are these what your talking about?

...anyways. i definitely think that painting the valve cover looks incredible. how much would the overall cost be of painting it myself? im completely confident that i could do it, i just dont wanna spend a ton. would you recommend professionaly powder coated or just me doing it myself?